By Woodrow Carroll
It is hard to argue over the interest generated by the recent Michael Jordan-centered Netflix series “The Last Dance” for television in 10 one-hour segments on ESPN/ESPN2. Many viewers were in quarantine confinement and enjoyed the epic.
Stories and articles centering around Jordan and his accomplishments then followed with pictures galore.
One photo, displayed by more than one media outlet, was taken after the Chicago Bulls had knocked off the Seattle SuperSonics in 1996 NBA Championship Series Finals, the fourth of six championships captured by the Bulls. Seated from left to right were Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson, and Jordan.
The quartet was far from finished and won two more NBA championships.
Among them, the foursome of Rodman, Pippen, Jackson, and Jordan collected 30 NBA championship rings. Jackson, with 13, not Jordan, is far and away the leader. Phil Jackson was a very serviceable member and sixth man of the 1970 and 1973 New York Knicks teams that captured NBA championships. Jackson clearly learned along the way.
Jackson improved his championship rings total to eight when he guided the Bulls to six championships in the 1990s, thanks in large part to Jordan and Pippen, of course.
Jackson’s reputation preceded him after his success in Chicago. The Los Angeles Lakers came calling and another three-peat was produced when the Lakers reigned as the NBA best in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Having Shaq O’Neal and Kobe Bryant was helpful. Still, there was no denying Jackson’s success.
Jackson closed out his ring run by guiding the Lakers to NBA championships in 2009 and 2010 to bring his total as player and head coach to 13.
Similar to Jackson, Rodman achieved success in different locales.
He was a member of the Detroit Pistons’ championship teams in 1989 and 1990. He was not the leader in the Let’s Annoy Jordan Faction, which featured Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer. Rodman, no doubt, contributed with his behavior. Only five rings was the net result for Rodman.
In the case of Pippen, he played in Jordan’s shadow. Six championships and recognition as a great defender made for positive recognition. Pippen’s time with the Bulls wasn’t quite similar to the Yankees’ Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig or Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita on the Chicago Blackhawks in sharing the glory. It was Jordan front and center.
Jordan’s championship time in Chicago found the Bulls tested. Yet, the Bulls were never forced to go to a deciding seventh game in the championship series finals. The Jackson, Jordan, and Pippen triumvirate took out the Lakers in five games in 1991. In 1992 and 1993, it was the Portland Trail Blazers, then the Phoenix Suns each going down in six games. In 1996, with the return of Jordan from his baseball sojourn and the addition of Rodman, the Bulls beat Seattle in six games followed by four games to two victories over the Utah Jazz the following two seasons.
Similar to so many individuals who achieve a high degree of success, Jordan’s drive left him with few real friends. Jordan remembered slights, real or imagined!
Playing with the right teammate was the way to go. Boston Celtics’ great Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships in his 13 seasons, 1957-1969. Six of Russell’s teammates to include Sam Jones, 10; Tom Heinsohn, nine; K.C. Jones, eight; Tom” Satch” Sanders, eight; John Havlicek, eight; and Jim Loscutoff, seven, follow as ring bearers. Except for Havlicek’s final two championships with the Celtics in 1974 and 1976, all championships came with Russell as a teammate.